Confiscated Conception by Fossen Delores

Author:Fossen, Delores [Fossen, Delores]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 9781426886867
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-12-27T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Jared tossed the car keys on the desk and swore liberally. "I never should have taken you to Livingston's house with me. Never. I had a bad feeling about the place the second we got there—but did I pull back? No. I let you walk in there and face Meredith."

With each mile that he'd driven to get them back to the hotel, reality had sunk in a little deeper. Just minutes earlier, Rachel had practically been killed, and—damn—it was all his fault.

"Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?" she murmured.

Rachel looked the pillar of strength standing there. She had her arms folded over her chest and her eyes focused. She even had her mouth set in that stubborn line. The facade worked, temporarily.

Until Jared glanced at her arm.

"What the hell is this?" He caught her wrist, shoved up the loose sleeve of her T-shirt and examined the reddish marks on her forearm.

Rachel didn't answer. She didn't have to. Because Jared put it together immediately. And it turned his stomach.

"Meredith did this to you." The cursing reached a whole different level and intensity. "Hell, I can't even protect you while you're in the same house with me."

Rachel pulled her arm from his grip and slid her sleeve back in place to cover the marks. "It's not your job to protect me, Jared. As I recall, you were busy taking care of Livingston at the time. Besides, these are just bruises. They'll go away in a couple of days."

A spark of rage shot through him. "But the memory of that bastard putting them there won't."

"I know," she whispered. "I know."

She sank onto the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. Only then did Jared realize she was trembling. But not just trembling. She was shaking. Hell, here he was ranting and venting, and he had forgotten all about what she might be going through.

He went to her immediately and wrapped his arm around her. While he was at it, he checked her eyes to make sure she wasn't going into shock. She wasn't. But Jared saw things in those green depths that made him want to tear Meredith limb from limb.

"It's over," Jared said softly, hoping his words would soothe her enough to stave off a panic attack. He brushed a kiss on her temple and felt her pulse hammer against his mouth.

"It's never over," Rachel countered. "Any idea how many hours of therapy I've had?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "Too many to count. Plus, the hypnosis and the various medications. You name it and I've tried it. Nothing's worked. I'm still too terrified of guns to protect myself. Talk about a genuine wuss."

"You're not a wuss. You have a phobia. Lots of people do. But that didn't stop you from standing up to Meredith today. I know how much it cost you to do that."

She waved him off. "I don't want your sympathy."

"Good, because this isn't sympathy. This is me telling you that we succeeded this morning.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.